Drying Compressed Air Using Over-compression

Over-compression is perhaps the easiest method for drying compressed air. Air is first compressed to a higher pressure than the intended working pressure, which means that the concentration of water vapor increases. Thereafter the air is cooled and the water is separated as a result. Finally, the air is allowed to expand to the working pressure, and a lower PDP is attained. However, this method is only suitable for very small air flow rates, due to its high energy consumption.